Key to Wrigley renovation: Will it lead to a title?

More revenue doesn't guarantee success, but impossible to sustain success without lots of money

April 16, 2013|Phil Rogers | On Baseball

Quaint ballparks are cool, no question about it. But they don't win championships.

That's why the Yankees did an ugly overhaul on the House That Ruth built in the mid-1970s and scrapped the original Yankee Stadium altogether five seasons ago. It's why Tiger Stadium was no longer viable, no matter how great the outfield overhang and the memories of Ty Cobb. It's why Jerry Reinsdorf spent so little time thinking about saving Comiskey Park before trying to find a new home for the White Sox.

Tom Ricketts loves Wrigley Field but knows he's not a miracle worker. With an improved ballpark in the works, however, he was willing to offer Chicago a stunning pledge on Monday.

"If this is approved, we will win the World Series,'' Ricketts said, referring to the agreement to make dramatic changes to Wrigley Field and the surrounding neighborhood over a five-year period, which he hopes will begin in October.

Ricketts didn't say when the Cubs will win their first championship since 1908. But he plans to be there when it happens and — as he said about the approval process for the $500 million private project he says will create 1,300 new jobs — the sooner the better.

Ricketts, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Ald. Thomas Tunney, 44th, reached agreement on a sweeping proposal that gives Ricketts his huge video board in left field and a ton of additional signage, including a large see-through sign in right field. It increases the number of scheduled night games at Wrigley from 30 to 40. But it will face a tedious review before the Chicago's planning commission, landmarks commission and city council and could be delayed if unhappy rooftop operators follow through on threats of legal action.

In a statement released shortly after Ricketts promised to end the Billy Goat Curse in exchange for an improved ballpark, the Wrigleyville Rooftops Association said it reserves "the right to use any and all means necessary to enforce the remaining 11 years of our 20-year contract'' with the Cubs, which it has said would be violated if the team reduces the view from the rooftops.

Ricketts does not believe he needs the rooftop operators' participation in the deal.

"We know the agreement,'' he said. "We know we have the right to put up the signs.''

Since purchasing the team from Tribune Co. in 2009, Ricketts has been consistent about his desire to upgrade Wrigley the same way the Red Sox have improved Fenway Park, making an ancient cathedral work in modern times. It's a noble goal and he should be applauded for his vision and that of the team's long-term staffers, especially Mike Lufrano, executive vice president of community affairs.

Ricketts said Monday that "many thought (a Wrigley Field renovation) couldn't be done." Unless he's talking about the Rosemont mayor, I'm not sure who he means.

With the exception of the White Sox's hard-core faithful, most Chicagoans love Wrigley. It's bad baseball they're sick of, and on the day after Edwin Jackson and Michael Bowden combined for five wild pitches in an inning, you can't blame them.

Theo Epstein was hired by Ricketts to end the curse. He would not have come here if he had not received assurances that Ricketts was going to modernize Wrigley Field and improve the team's revenue streams.

Ricketts is dead on when he says the business side of baseball and what happens on the field are "two sides of the same coin.'' Spending money doesn't guarantee success, but it is impossible to sustain it without revenues that rank at the top of the game. You can't do much better than the Rays have. Yet they have lacked the pieces to get over the hump and the outlook will dim considerably when they have to trade Cy Young winner David Price.

Do you think Tigers fans like having Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Justin Verlander on the same roster? While you applaud the loyalty of their fans, there's no way that happens without the expanded revenues the team produces from the Comerica Park amenities.

Ricketts is doing what Cubs fans in the 1950s and early '60s wanted Phil Wrigley to do — focusing both on the quality of the ballpark experience and the competitiveness of the team. He knows you can't have the former without the latter.

Ricketts will offer a toast or two when this agreement is finalized and we can all find out if he will follow through on his two promises — a championship team on the field and "no naked cowboy'' in the public plaza planned for the northeast corner of Clark and Addison.

He's right when he says "there's a lot of baseball to be played'' before he can raise that toast. But there's little doubt the deal will get done. The question is how messy it will get before it is completed.